Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Federal prosecutors named Smartmatic parent SGO Corp as a defendant in the ongoing criminal prosecution filed in 2024 against three former executives for their alleged roles in the scheme. Multiple units offline at BP's Whiting refinery, sources say citing data Multiple units were offline at BP's 440,000 barrel-per-day Whiting oil refinery in Indiana, the largest in the U.S. Midwest region, two market sources on Friday said, citing data from Wood Mackenzie.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Military spending bill blocked in US Senate as shutdown grinds on

U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a bill that would have funded the Pentagon for a full year, thwarting an effort by Republicans to restart some federal funding as the government shutdown stretched into its 16th day. The tally was 50-44, falling short of the 60 needed to advance the measure in the 100-member Senate. The vote was largely along party lines, with President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans voting in favor and all but three Democrats objecting.

US FDA announces recipients of national priority vouchers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced the names of nine products, under a new fast-track review process, which could potentially get approval within one to two months of filing a complete application. The regulator said it has selected Merck KGaA's fertility drug Pergoveris, Sanofi's Type 1 diabetes drug teplizumab, Regeneron's DB-OTO for deafness and ketamine for domestic manufacturing of a general anesthetic.

Trump says price of Ozempic will be lowered

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the price of Novo Nordisk's best-selling weight-loss drug would be lowered and that negotiations over price changes would be swift.

Trump made the comments during a White House event on fertility treatments and drug pricing. He was asked by reporters to identify the name of a drug that he earlier in the event said would be made less expensive.

US prosecutors charge voting tech company Smartmatic in alleged bribery scheme

Voting technology company Smartmatic was charged in U.S. federal court in Florida on Thursday with money laundering and other crimes, in an alleged foreign bribery conspiracy involving three of its former executives to secure business in the Philippines. Federal prosecutors named Smartmatic parent SGO Corp as a defendant in the ongoing criminal prosecution filed in 2024 against three former executives for their alleged roles in the scheme.

Multiple units offline at BP's Whiting refinery, sources say citing data

Multiple units were offline at BP's 440,000 barrel-per-day Whiting oil refinery in Indiana, the largest in the U.S. Midwest region, two market sources on Friday said, citing data from Wood Mackenzie. The refinery was actively flaring early on Friday, one of the sources said, citing a Wood Mackenzie camera feed of the plant.

US outlines growth, deregulation, energy as priorities for G20 presidency, sources say

The U.S. will focus on economic growth, deregulation and energy as key priorities for its G20 presidency next year, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a meeting of the world's major economies on Thursday, two sources familiar with the remarks said. The upcoming U.S. presidency of the G20 has stirred curiosity and uncertainty, given U.S. President Donald Trump's moves to quit multilateral treaties and organizations and slash development aid, while eliminating any focus on climate change, an issue that has preoccupied the G20 in recent years.

Oklahoma abandons requirement for Bibles in every classroom

The Oklahoma Department of Education is rescinding a 2024 directive that required teachers to have the Christian Bible in every classroom and incorporate it into their lessons, which had been challenged as unconstitutional. The directive was the brainchild of Ryan Walters, who resigned as the U.S. state's superintendent of public instruction last month. The Oklahoma Supreme Court had halted the effort while teachers and parents from various religious backgrounds challenged it in a lawsuit against Walters that argued the Bible mandate violated the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on state sponsorship of religion.

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